This invention relates collapsible frameworks for portable displays, and more specifically, to vertical braces for collapsible portable display frameworks.
Portable display structures are widely used to form temporary enclosures and to display graphic and other informational materials in public settings. For example, portable structures are widely used to form booths at trade shows and other such exhibitions. It is generally desirable that portable display structures be self-supporting for maximum flexibility in use, and collapsible to enable easy transportation.
Collapsible self-supporting structures may have a network of support rods which are pivotally joined together by hub assemblies for movement between a collapsed, compact position for storage or transportation and an open or erect condition in which the desired structural shape is attained. One example of such a structure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,210, commonly owned by the owners of the present invention, and hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. Such structures are commercially available and are commonly used to form the backdrop of a portable display. The framework may be covered by sheets of fabric or other flexible material. The material may be imprinted with graphics, or may serve as a substrate for attachment of items. In addition, items may be attached to, or suspended from, the framework itself.
Collapsible structures, such as described above, may use removable rigid brace members to provide vertical support to the structure. These vertical braces, sometimes known as channel bars, may attach to the front of the structure and also serve as a means for attaching display elements to the structure.
A framework and system of channel bar attachment is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,560, to Beaulieu, which is incorporated fully herein by reference. In this system, the channel bar support and attachment braces have a closed aperture at one end of the channel bar and a u-shaped notch at the other end. To attach the channel bar, the channel bar end having the closed aperture is placed over the fastening button of a first hub. The collapsible framework has a certain, limited, amount of resilience so that a second vertically aligned hub may be pulled slightly apart from the first hub. With the hubs slightly spread apart, the channel bar may be positioned between the hubs so that the u-shaped notch engages the fastening button of the second hub. When the resilience of the structure returns the hubs to normal position, the channel bar is slightly axially compressed between the fastening buttons of the hubs. The channel bar is held by the closed aperture over a fastening button at one end, and by engagement of the u-shaped notch with the fastening button at the other end.
A problem with the support and attachment brace system described has been that it is necessary to physically deform the framework slightly by pulling the aligned hub assemblies away from each other in order to attach the channel bars. This is inconvenient, requires physical strength on the part of the person setting up or taking down the display, and causes stress on the hub assemblies and frame members. What is needed in the industry is a support and attachment brace that can be easily and quickly attached and detached from the framework without the need to deform the framework.
A support and attachment brace for a collapsible display structure that substantially meets the aforementioned needs of the industry is provided in the present invention. The support and attachment brace is attachable between two vertically adjacent hubs of a collapsible display structure, and includes an elongated rigid bar or brace with opposing ends. A first end has a tab with an aperture adapted to receive and engage a fastening button projecting from a first hub assembly. The second end has a slide mechanism having a slide with an open notch. The slide is retractable so that the brace may be aligned with a fastening button projecting from the second hub without the need for forcing the hubs apart. Once in position, the slide is extendable so that the open notch is engaged with the fastening button of the second hub, the brace being thereby affixed to the display structure. The support and attachment brace is adapted so as to enable multiple support and attachment braces to be attached to the structure in a vertical column arrangement for providing vertical support and rigidity to the structure.
A magnetic strip affixed along the length of the brace provides a means for releasably attaching a sheet of material to the brace to cover the panel structure with a display or graphic representation. A plurality of vertically aligned slots in the brace may be provided for releasably attaching shelving or other display accessories to the panel structure.
The present invention advantageously provides vertical supportive strength and rigidity to collapsible display structures and further permits attachment of various display accessories, such as sheets of material, shelving, etc. The braces quickly and easily interconnect with vertically aligned hub assemblies and require no special adaptations of the support rods or the panel structure.
In one embodiment, a support and attachment brace for a collapsible display structure having a plurality of projecting fastening buttons is provided. The brace includes an elongate rigid bar portion having a pair of opposing ends. A tab portion having an aperture formed therein projects axially from one of the opposing ends. The aperture is adapted to receive and engage one of the projecting fastening buttons on the display structure. The brace further includes a slide portion at the other end of the rigid bar portion. The slide portion has a notch adapted to engage the fastening button of another hub of the display structure. The slide portion is selectively axially slidably positionable in at least a first favored extended position for engaging the notch with the fastening button, and a second favored retracted position for disengaging the notch from the fastening button.